PSL‘s Soguilon shines in Batang Pinoy Visayas leg

Philippine Swimming League (PSL) standout Kyla Soguilon of Sun Yat Sen School-Kalibo stamped her class in the girls’ 12-under to win five gold medals in the recently-concluded 2015 Philippine Youth Games Visayas Qualifying held at the Ramon Magsaysay Sports Complex in Rombon.

The 10-year-old Soguilon, a veteran of international tournaments, reigned supreme in the 50-meter butterfly, 50m backstroke, 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 100m backstroke to earn a spot in the national finals scheduled on November 27 to December 2 in Cebu City.

“We are very proud of Kyla Soguilon. She’s a product of our grassroots development program of the Philippine Swimming League and the Aklan Swimming Team. Sobrang laki ng improvement ng batang ito and we are hoping na mas mapataas pa ang kalidad ng kaniyang performance sa mga susunod na competitions,” said PSL President Susan Papa.

“She’s one of the best young swimmers right now in the country and we will continue supporting her as well as the other PSL swimmers to achieve their dreams,” added Papa.

Soguilon was named as the 2014 Junior Athlete of the Year by the Philippine Sportswriters Association. She was also the 2014 Milo Junior Athlete of the Year and was a member of the five-athlete 2014 Tony Siddayao awardee.

Also in 2014, Soguilon bagged the PSL Female Swimmer of the Year award, joining the elite list of Swimmer of the Year awardees that include Singapore Southeast Asian Games gold medalist Maria Claire Adorna.

“I am really thankful with the blessings that I’m getting. I won’t be able to achieve all of these without the help of my parents, my PSL family, my Aklan Swimming Team family and of course God, who’s giving me strength,” Soguilon said.

This year, Soguilon has already bagged numerous medals in international competitions. She started it with a seven-gold medal romp in the 2015 Phuket Invitational Swimming Championship in Thailand in March then pocketed seven golds and three silvers in the 2015 Indian Ocean All Stars Challenge in Australia in April.

Last month, she grabbed the Most Outstanding Swimmer award in the 2015 Singapore Invitational Swimming Championship by virtue of her five-gold, one-silver, one-bronze showing.

“I’m looking forward to bringing more honors for our country. I just need to stay focused and be healthy at all times,” she ended.